


A Piece of Cake

by musingsofaretiredunicorn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Baking, Calendar Girls (the 2003 movie), M/M, draco tries so hecking hard but muggle baking is much more difficult than anticipated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:32:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musingsofaretiredunicorn/pseuds/musingsofaretiredunicorn
Summary: Draco Malfoy was going to bake Harry Potter a birthday cake. He had all his ingredients laid out, and was feeling rather confident—most potions he’d made in his life had at least double the number of ingredients, so how difficult could this be?





	A Piece of Cake

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank-you to [christinamars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/christinamars/pseuds/christinamars) and [laborinquena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/laborinquena/pseuds/laborinquena) for looking this over for me <3
> 
> All characters belong to JKR, I've just taken them out to play for a bit :)

_1 cup all-purpose flour_  
_1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder_  
_1 cup butter, softened_  
_1 cup confectioners’ sugar_  
_2 eggs, room temperature_  
_1 teaspoon vanilla extract_  
_1/2 cup milk, room temperature_

Draco Malfoy was going to bake Harry Potter a birthday cake. He had all his ingredients laid out, and was feeling rather confident—most potions he’d made in his life had at least double the number of ingredients, so how difficult could this be? Making it entirely the Muggle way would, of course, provide a challenge, but to properly impress Harry—which was essential—he had to avoid any and all magic that might help the process along. 

They’d only started dating a bit over a month ago, but Draco had quickly noticed that the gifts Harry treasured most were the simple, thoughtful gestures that showed the giver cared enough to notice what he liked or needed. Draco would have loved to simply buy Harry that state-of-the-art Firebolt Model X from the cover of _Quidditch Weekly_ that he’d seen him staring longingly at. Harry had insisted he couldn’t order one because of his strict rules on buying things for himself, supposedly based on “need” versus “want.” Draco had rolled his eyes fondly at that—surely the Savior of the Wizarding World could justify getting himself a new broom just because he liked it? Anyway, Draco had planned an even better gift than the newest broom—something homemade—a freshly-baked Muggle confection.

Draco began to briskly sift the flour as directed by the Muggle recipe in Hermione’s cookbook; he’d borrowed it the last time he and Harry had stopped by the Granger-Weasley household. It was odd how quickly she’d warmed up to him once he had begun seeing Harry, but he supposed his apology visit to her office at the Ministry had considerably smoothed the path toward their current friendship. 

He coughed as a white cloud engulfed his face and slowed the speed at which he was shaking the sieve until the cloud dissipated. _At this rate, it’s going to take me an hour just to complete the first step of the recipe._ Frustrated, Draco cast a modified Locomotor spell so the flour would continue sifting in the background as he beat together the sugar and butter—if he’d had a friend over, he would have asked them to sift the flour for him, so using magic wasn’t _really_ cheating, and whatever an ‘electric mixer’ was, Draco didn’t own one. He began to wish he did, however, as the sugar-butter mixture was taking ages to become as fluffy as the recipe said it ought to be. He beat it faster and faster, taking out his frustration on the bowl, and heard a clatter behind him. Turning around, he groaned—his irritation had made his magic flare, which had resulted in the entire bowl of sifted flour being thrown into the air along with the sieve. Now there was white powder everywhere, _and_ he’d have to re-sift the flour. How crucial could that step be, anyway? 

After a quick Scourgify, he measured out another cup of flour, packing it firmly and mildly cursing the recipe-writers for not including that detail. The rest of the steps seemed to go much more smoothly, and soon enough, he was thoroughly mixing the batter until it was as blended as could be. That was when he realized he’d neglected to preheat his oven, because he had forgotten that it would actually take time to heat up. After letting the batter sit while the oven warmed, he finally put it in and slammed the door, turning around to survey the mess he’d made of his kitchen. 

Twenty minutes later, when he turned the cake out onto a plate, half of it stuck in the pan, and what didn’t stick thumped out heavily. He glared at the failed attempt, assessing whether he could reassemble it somehow—but when he broke off a piece to taste it, it was nothing like the light and airy sponge the recipe book had promised. It was heavy, dense, and bland— _fuck_ , he’d forgotten the vanilla. 

After Vanishing the remains of his failure, he began measuring out the ingredients for a second time. This round, he didn’t use any magic—even to cool himself down, though the kitchen was getting more and more humid—and followed each step as carefully as he could. He proudly pulled the cake out of the oven, sure he’d succeeded… but the center of the cake had somehow collapsed inward, so much so that only a grotesque amount of frosting could conceal it. This failure was somehow worse than the first, because he’d actually _tried_ , dammit! Muggles baked all the time, so why couldn’t he? _Perhaps the third time will be the charm_ , he thought to himself as he went to gather ingredients for yet another attempt. He opened the fridge, only to discover that he had used his last egg in making the previous cake. 

Sighing, Draco set out to Marks and Spencer, the nearest Muggle shop, to purchase more eggs. _Maybe being around so many Muggles will make me a better baker._ It was a long shot, but he was desperate—it would soon be evening, and he had to arrive at Harry’s apartment before him for it to be a proper birthday surprise. As he passed through the bakery section, making his way toward the refrigerator cases with eggs and dairy products, the ready-made cakes caught his eye. One in particular looked delicious—a chocolate cake covered in fudgy frosting, with the label promising more frosting and a layer of raspberry jam inside. It was beautiful. He bought it. 

____

-

“Happy birthday, Harry!”

“Draco! I didn’t expect to see you here tonight!” Harry enthusiastically hugged Draco, then kissed him soundly. 

Draco pulled away first, laughing. “You berk, you didn’t think your boyfriend would come over for your _birthday_?” 

Harry blushed, pleased at the word ‘boyfriend’ falling so easily from Draco’s lips, and followed him down the hall to the kitchen.

“I don’t think I have much here for dinner, love, so we can go out somewhere? I told Ron I might meet him and Hermione at the pub later, but we don’t have to—” 

“Close your eyes!” Draco interrupted. “I have a surprise for you.”

Harry complied, and Draco uncovered the cake, which he’d unwrapped and plated. He took a fork and cut a piece of the slice he’d prepared, and brought it to Harry’s lips. “Open up.”

Harry accepted the bite, and moaned as he opened his eyes, which grew wide once he noticed the cake. 

“Draco, babe… you made this? For me? It’s incredible! I didn’t even know you could bake!”

“I tried baking entirely without magic for the first time today.” Draco replied smoothly, feeling guilty though the statement was entirely true.

Harry engulfed him in another bear hug, gushing about how proud he was of Draco’s first attempt. 

“We might as well just eat the cake for dinner; I won’t be able to think about eating anything else tonight.”

Draco smirked. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Harry swatted his shoulder, laughing. “I meant food, you wanker!”

They each grabbed a fork, and Harry began to tell Draco about his day as they unceremoniously stabbed into the cake, not worrying about cutting slices first. Draco only half-listened, feeling uncharacteristically ashamed about all the compliments Harry kept giving him about his baking skills. 

After a few minutes of guilt, he cracked, interrupting a story about Ron’s ongoing feud with the office coffee machine to blurt out, “I’m so sorry! It was just such a mess, and I wanted to please you, and I don’t know what I did wrong! I failed so miserably! I don’t know how the Muggles do it—” 

“Draco, what are you talking about? You haven’t failed at anything!”

“The… the cake is from… Marks and Spencer … but I tried to make my own twice, and they were both disasters, but you deserve to have the best cake …” Draco trailed off, seeing Harry’s bemused smile. “And anyway, isn’t it a Muggle rule that ‘If it’s a special occasion, buy it from Marks and Spencer’?” He finished triumphantly, attempting to regain some dignity after his entirely un-Slytherin-like outburst of guilt.

Harry laughed. “Where did you get that idea?”

“From the Muggle film, _Calendar Girls_. Came out in 2003, starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters,” Draco rattled off. “I assume you’ve seen it?” He himself had watched it shortly after its release, as he, Pansy, and Blaise had become quite interested in Muggle films (or _flims_ , as they had ignorantly called them) as windows into Muggle culture. It had been Blaise’s turn to pick the film, and he had chosen that one, thinking there would be naked girls in it. He had been shocked to find the story was actually about a group of older women making a nude calendar to raise money for their Women’s Institute, and Draco and Pansy had had a good laugh at him for not getting any wanking material out of it after all. 

Harry hadn’t seen the movie, but laughed so hard tears began to roll down his cheeks when Draco dramatically imitated the horrified face Blaise had made when the first quinquagenarian had begun to strip for the camera.

“So, where did cake-making come into it?” Harry asked once he’d managed to stop snickering.

“Well, there was a baking competition, and one of the women couldn’t be arsed to bake so she brought a store-bought cake—but she ended up winning both prizes, and when they asked her to say a few words on her technique she simply said that she took her mother’s advice, which was to buy it at Marks and Spencer if it was a truly special occasion…” He trailed off. “Was that meant to be a joke?”

“I haven’t seen the movie, but probably.” Harry pulled Draco into a hug. “Listen, I know you were trying to impress me with the cake, and I’m a little disappointed you didn’t tell me immediately, but I’m far more impressed by your knowledge of Muggle films. And anyway, you don’t need to impress me by knowing things about Muggles. I know you’ve worked hard to get rid of your prejudices, and we’re together because we like each other as we are, yeah?”

“Nah, I’m just here for the perks of dating the Golden Boy.” Draco mumbled into Harry’s neck.

“You know I hate being called that!” Harry groaned, slapping Draco’s arse playfully as he walked over to the counter. “I’ll teach you to make a proper cake tomorrow, but for now, open up that bottle of port you gave me for our one-month anniversary and bring the rest of the cake into the lounge—I’ll let Ron know we won’t be joining him and Hermione later, and then we can watch this film. I want to understand just how disappointed Blaise was with his choice.”

And they spent the rest of Harry’s birthday cuddled up together on the couch, watching the movie in between feeding each other Marks and Spencer’s best.

**Author's Note:**

> The recipe for sponge cake that Draco is using at the beginning is from [allrecipes.com](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/141783/victoria-sponge-cake/) if you want to try your hand at it (I'm sure you'll be more successful than he was!)
> 
> If you haven't seen [Calendar Girls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_Girls) I highly recommend it—it features some fabulous older British actresses, and is super humorous (as you can imagine xD)
> 
> Comments and kudos are verily appreciated :)
> 
> Come say hi on [tumblr](https:harryandhislittledragon.tumblr.com)!


End file.
